8 Creative November Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits | 2023 Updated
With the end of the year fast approaching, your nonprofit’s staff will scramble to come up with ideas for how best to spend your remaining budget. If you haven’t already discussed options, now is the perfect time to start brainstorming different ways for your organization to spend those last few dollars.
You want to ensure that every dollar spent makes an impact and isn’t just going towards a luxury that isn’t connected with your core mission as a non-profit.
To help get you started, we have listed some great November fundraising ideas for nonprofits from across the country that can also work for your organization.
8 Creative November Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits:
Have a Food and Fundraising Event
No matter what month it is, holding a food and fundraising event is always a great option for your organization. This is especially true if you are in a colder climate where outdoor fundraising events are not really an option.
When planning your food and fundraising event, make sure to keep your target audience in mind and choose a type of food that will appeal to them. If you don’t know what type of food would appeal to your target audience, then don’t worry. There are tons of resources online that can help you with this choice.
You need to remember that you will want to make sure that your food and fundraising event is not only an easy way to raise funds but also a way to bring together your organization.
The last thing you want to do is hold an event that leaves participants feeling like they have been exploited for money. Your event should be a fun, enjoyable experience for all involved, and in the end, they should feel like they got something from the event other than just food.
Ask for Donations From Previous Volunteers
If your organization has volunteers who have recently completed projects or services, you may want to consider reaching out to them for donations. Asking for donations from previous volunteers can be a great way to spend your remaining budget, especially if your organization is a non-profit that relies on volunteers.
Asking for donations is a great way to show volunteers how much you appreciate their efforts and recognize their contribution to your organization and the community. One thing to keep in mind when asking for donations from previous volunteers is that it can be a bit tricky to word your request in a way that is not seen as offensive or inappropriate.
You don’t want to insult a volunteer by asking for money, but you also want to make sure you spend every dollar wisely and not just waste cash on frivolous expenses. Make sure that you word your request for donations professionally but also politely, and show volunteers that you are grateful for their contributions.
Adopt-a- Highway/ Byway Cleanup
If your nonprofit has a standard size and age group of participants, then adopting a highway or byway cleanup is an excellent November fundraising idea. This type of event is great because as participants clean up the highway, they also serve the community and make it a cleaner place.
Because it is a public service event, there are likely government and nonprofit agencies that will help you promote the event, making it even easier to organize and host.
For the most part, adopting a highway or byway cleanup involves setting up a specific time and day for your group to attend the cleanup. Make sure that you check with the highway or byway authorities before setting a time for your group to attend.
The highway or byway agency in charge of the cleanup may have a specific time frame for when volunteers can show up each day, or they may ask certain groups to come at different times of the day to avoid certain traffic patterns.
Holiday Outreach
Whether your nonprofit focuses on a certain holiday or just wants to do something special for the holidays, you can use your remaining budget to host a holiday outreach event.
The holiday outreach event you host depends on your organization’s mission. For example, if you work with children with special needs, you may want to host a holiday party for children with special needs and their families. Working with adults with special needs, you may want to host a holiday gift-giving event.
If your nonprofit focuses on a specific holiday, such as Autism Awareness, you can host a holiday outreach event to educate others on the importance of the holiday and how they can get involved. Holiday outreach events are a great way to use your remaining budget to help others celebrate the holidays.
Online Fundraising Campaigns
If your nonprofit has a strong online presence, you may want to consider holding online fundraising campaigns. Some online fundraising campaigns can be as simple as setting up a GoFundMe campaign, or a more complex option would be to run a crowdfunding campaign on a site like Kickstarter or Donorbox.
Depending on your organization, there are several different online fundraising options for nonprofits, and one of them is likely a good fit for your organization. Before you go with one of these online fundraising campaigns, you will want to ensure you have a strong online presence, especially with social media.
You want to ensure that you can get the word out about your campaign and that your followers are engaged. You don’t want just to throw up a campaign and hope for the best. Instead, you want to ensure that you engage your followers and push the campaign out as much as possible.
Scholarships for Students
If your organization offers certain types of services, you may be in a position to offer scholarships for students. Many scholarships are awarded for specific purposes (such as for students who are studying a certain field or who have a certain GPA), making it easy for your organization to offer scholarships to students based on the work of your nonprofit.
Depending on the type of work your organization does, you may be able to offer scholarships to students studying a variety of different fields. In some cases, you may only be able to offer scholarships to students in your area.
Regardless of the type of scholarships your organization offers, hosting a fundraising event to help raise money for the scholarships can be a great way to spend your remaining budget. Not only is it a good way to raise money, but it is also a great way to help the community.
Collaboration with Other Nonprofits
If your organization is in a position where you need to spend your remaining budget, you may want to consider reaching out to other nearby nonprofits for a collaboration.
You can ask other local nonprofits if they would be interested in a collaboration event. If you don’t know who you would like to partner with, you can look through a directory of different nonprofits in your area and see if they seem a good fit.
Collaboration events are excellent ways to spend your remaining budget because they allow you to split the costs with another organization. In some cases, you may even be able to share volunteers to help ease the workload and make the event easier for both organizations.
If you decide to hold a collaboration event with another nonprofit, you may want to ask them if they would be willing to contribute towards the event’s costs. This way, your organization can use its remaining budget to cover the costs and then ask the other organization to contribute towards those costs.
Depending on the type of collaboration event that you decide to hold, you may be able to spend your remaining budget in a variety of different ways.
Events
Depending on your organization and the type of event you decide to host, you have a lot of freedom as to how you spend your remaining budget.
For example, if you decide to host a concert, you can use your remaining budget to cover the costs of renting out a venue, paying for security, paying performers, and maybe even hiring a sound engineer and stage manager.
Below, we have listed several different types of events that your nonprofit can host to spend your remaining budget.
Concerts – Concerts are one of the most popular types of events, and they are also fairly easy to plan and host, making them a great choice if you need to spend your remaining budget. Depending on the concert you host, you may want to consider hiring talent like a DJ or a musician to perform.
You may also want to consider renting a venue for the concert and hiring security to help make sure the event goes smoothly and stays safe.
Galas – Galas are large events that generally include dinner and live entertainment. They are a great way to spend your remaining budget because they are often quite expensive to host.
Depending on the gala you host, you may consider hiring a caterer, renting out a venue, hiring entertainment such as a band or a DJ, and also paying for event decor.
Final Thoughts
It can take months or even years to raise enough funds for a nonprofit organization to run a campaign or event. That’s why it’s important to squeeze every penny out of each dollar you have left when you fundraise.
The best way to do this is to look for creative ways for your organization to fundraise. You can use it to impact the world around you and ensure that it stays in the hands of those who need it most. While there are many different ways to fundraise, many of them have a common goal: to raise money for your organization. We hope that this article helped you get some ideas to kickstart your fundraising projects in November.
